There And Back Again
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: There’s a road that wasn’t taken and a path that will be well traveled...and everything in between. How one saga became the next. The years in between The Road Not Taken and A Path Well Traveled.
1. Permission

**These are a collection of short stories happening after **_**The Road Not Taken**_** and before **_**A Path Well Traveled**_**, to show all the stuff in between that was never shown or merely implied in either of aforementioned stories. This upcoming one is a little angsty, as I'm leaving my parents' house tomorrow on somewhat bad terms, and naturally I'm feeling a little down about that. This is also the first real time I'm going to be separated from my brother, as he's not going to be able to come with me for another month at least. I am not ashamed to admit that this honestly scares me, but anyway...**

**Disclaimer: Anyone you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me. **_**Bionicle**_** and all other related characters belong to LEGO Enterprises.**

**Summary: There's a road that wasn't taken and a path that will be well traveled...and everything in between. How one saga became the next.**

**There And Back Again   
By: Saya Moonshadow   
Beta: Zanda Waffle 07**

_**Step 1: Permission**_

She is a traveler, and she is beautiful. To Matau, anyway. The other male Toa Metru have commented on how, compared to their life mates, she is nothing special, but Matau takes this as a given. They're all in love. Being in love tends to blind one to the finer things in life.

They hit it off fairly quickly, and Tazuna Voya begins to tell him about herself. How, almost immediately upon becoming a Toa, she was seized with the need to travel. "Or rather," she says, slurring her words slightly because of the drinks they're both downing, "I always wanted to travel. Being a Toa just meant that I could finally DO it." She smiles at him, and her eyes are misty.

Matau smiles back. "I've only left Metru Nui once," he says, "and that was only, what, four or five days? Seein' the world was nice, but I was glad to be safe-home."

Tazuna snorts. "I don't care if I never see Voya Nui again." she tells him, taking another sip of her drink. "It was a nice place, but I've had enough of it to last a life time. Besides, going back doesn't fit in with my dream."

"And just what IS your dream?" he asks. "Seein' the world, eh?"

"Sort of." Her eyes are still misty, but now they are set on the horizon. The sun set a few hours ago; it is getting rather late. "I wanna set foot on every land to be found in the world b'fore I die. That's my dream. And once that's done, I can die happy."

Matau nods and finishes his drink, signaling to the Matoran working the Le-Metru bar to pour him another one. Once that is done, he stirs it thoughtfully. "You're a good-looking lady, Tazuna. Any males in the picture, ne?"

She shakes her head, still looking at the horizon. "No. No time. I don't need a man to be happy."

He laughs at this. She sounds like the typical strong female. Never letting anyone in, proclaiming her happiness at being single. "So you just don't let them in?"

"Nope." She sways a little, then steadies herself. "They need permission first, and none of 'em's gotten that permission."

"What if _I_ were to ask that permission?"

Tazuna glanced at him sideways. "You WANT my permission?" she asked, and her eyes were suddenly less misty. "You've got the whole island at yer feet, accordin' to your stories."

"You said any guy wanting to get sharp-close to you needed permission," Matau answered, looking her right in the eye. "Will you give me permission?"

"I don't do love." she tells him.

"Would you allow me to love you then? Just one night?"

She is considering this seriously, he can see. Her brow wrinkles in thought, and her eyes narrow a bit. She sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully. She isn't as out of it as he himself is, he knows, but she's still out of it. And everyone needs some affection at some point, right?

"Alright." she says, and gets up and yanks him up with her by his shoulder. He yelps painfully, and she smirks. "I'll let you love me tonight." she says. "But only once. That clear?"

"Perfectly." He grins at her, and she rolls her eyes.

It is a slight blow to the ego when they finally reach his small home and it is SHE pushing HIM up against the wall and kissing him fiercely, not the other way around, but he allows it. His need to be in control can wait. Perhaps if he sates her own need for attention and affection, he can convince her to stay, but he is not hopeful. By her own words, she has told him that she is virtually unable to stay in one place longer than a few days. She has already been here for two weeks. Much longer than usual.

He takes the time to realize that this is a bad idea to get into such a "casual" thing with her, with no real love, but can't be bothered with it. To Karzahni with consequences. He has no time for them right now.

"Remember..." she growls, breaking away from his mouth for a moment and staring him blearily in the eye. "You're only allowed to love me once."

He sighs. Thanks for the reminder... "I know."

Once becomes twice, and twice becomes three times...four...five times in total. She leans over him, once again the one instigating everything, and studies him almost critically. Then she grunts in approval and goes back to what she was doing before. It is almost romantic the way she lets him touch her, but after that kiss against the wall, she will not let him kiss her on the mouth. Why, he doesn't know, but lets go of the part of him wishing she would give him permission again, and contents himself with the rest of her instead.

Finally, she pushes him off and sits up almost ramrod-straight, staring out the window. He does not expect her to shove him, and falls right out of the bed, hitting the floor with a grunt of pain. He looks up at her, rubbing his back ruefully. "That hurt."

She grimaces. "How do you think _I_ felt? You have no method whatsoever."

This stings, but he can bear it. She is the first one he has done this with, after all, and he thinks he can be forgiven for being a little bad at it. "I'll get better," he says defensively.

Tazuna looks him straight in the eye. Her own eyes, lavender with a hint of pale blue, glint at him accusingly. "I said you could love me once. And I meant only once."

Matau grunts and gets back in his bed, but makes no attempt to touch her again. She obviously is not in the mood for it, and he falls asleep feeling somehow much worse than he's ever felt before.

When he wakes up the next morning, Tazuna is gone, and there is a note on his bedside table. He reads it and crumples it up.

_Permission denied._

She plays a hard game, he decides.

X x X

Three days later, she is gone from the island forever, and he knows she hates him more than anything. She blames him for what happened. She blames him for the baby growing inside of her. It is his fault, she tells him. If he hadn't come on to her three nights ago, she wouldn't be in this situation.

"Then stay with me," he says, taking her hand in his. It is large for a female's, and rough with calluses. Not at all like a female's hand is supposed to be. "If it's really that dark-bad for you to be in this...situation, as you say-call it, then stay with me and I'll help you."

"I don't need your help," she snarls, and he is surprised to hear genuine rage in her voice. "I won't get rid of it; just because its father's an idiot doesn't mean it shouldn't have a chance to live, but you will never see me or it ever again."

Ten minutes later, her small skiff is out of sight of the harbor, and she is gone. He continues to stare out over the water where her skiff disappeared for at least an hour.

Permission denied, indeed. Not only has she denied him permission to have a normal life (because he knows he cannot forget these past few days), she has also denied him permission to be the one thing he ever thought he'd really excel at. He wants to see his child, to hold it, to play with it and spoil it. He wants to know if it's a little girl with a love of traveling, or perhaps a little boy with his love of machines.

What does one say in this situation? What CAN one say in this situation?

He takes one last look at the horizon where she had stared from his bedroom window and turns his back on it.

X x X

**AN: And there's the first one...I don't know when the second one will come, as I don't know the next time I'll be able to connect to the internet, but rest assured I WILL be around. Just going on a temporary hiatus, is all. I need some time to get everything unpacked and stuff after I've moved, after all.**

**Anyway, please review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Precious Time

**So moving in wasn't as hard as I had thought...I'm already all unpacked, even my books and stuff! Anyway, I'm gonna make this short, as my grandmother and I are watching **_**The Princess Bride**_**, and I don't want to miss it.**

**Disclaimer: Anyone you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me. **_**Bionicle**_** and all other related characters belong to LEGO Enterprises.**

**Summary: There's a road that wasn't taken and a path that will be well traveled...and everything in between. How one saga became the next.**

**There And Back Again   
By: Saya Moonshadow   
Beta: Zanda Waffle 07**

_**Step 2: Precious Time**_

Whenua knows he is taking a chance when he agrees to take on this mission. Trade and commerce between the various lands is becoming more common, and this Toa of Water needs a place to stay. Her name is Aki. Well, to put it right, her name is Akita Merino, Merino obviously the title for her team of Toa. But no one other than her Turaga calls her "Akita", she says, and she prefers to be called "Aki".

The moment he sees her, he knows something was wrong with her. She is so frail, it seems impossible that she would be picked to be a Toa. There had to have been a stronger candidate for the position of Toa Merino of Water. The Great Spirit works in odd ways sometimes.

Sometimes she coughs in a way he can not quite ignore, despite her dismissing it as "just a little cold". Yeah right. The last time he'd insisted something was "just a little cold", he had ended up with pneumonia.

He remembers the mood Matau's been in since Tazuna left. He doesn't want that to happen to him, should Aki suddenly decide to leave, but he cannot help but think that perhaps he is a little smarter about things than Matau. He will not get into THAT sort of relationship with Aki unless they are married. Despite this, he allows Matau to open up to him, and tell him how he feels about life. It is almost shocking to him, the way Tazuna acted. Permission to love someone? Love should need no permission, and he tells Matau this. But Matau doesn't hear him, and goes back to staring out at the ocean.

Three months after Aki's arrival on Metru Nui, they are married. Mutual attraction, one might say. Love at first sight. All that. All Whenua knows is that he loves Aki Merino, and he wants to be with her forever. His teammates like this better than they liked Matau's relationship with Tazuna. That was a casual thing, doomed to mess up. His is a deeper bond than that. Vakama smiles and gives them his regards, Nokama hugs him and tells him how proud she is, Onewa blinks in disbelief then smiles and shakes his head, Nuju gives him a small smile, Siahta grins, Natay bursts into (loud and dramatic) tears, and Matau...Matau merely grimaces and turns away after shaking his hand.

There will be no sorrow in your relationship with her, they tell him. They shake their heads and worry about Matau, but are so happy for Whenua and Aki, they can forget Matau for an instant, just an instant, and celebrate.

Aki gets pregnant almost right away, which would have embarrassed him, if not for the fact that he is drowning in euphoria over it. Soon he will have a little boy or girl to cherish and love like he cherishes and loves his wife. He already has the first five years planned out. History lessons are a given, as both he and Aki love history more than anything else in the world. And lessons on how to be a proper Toa. This child will have the best of everything.

Four months after she gets pregnant, Aki starts coughing again. Whenua worries, because she has been doing so GOOD lately, such little coughing, but now it is back. It seems to be small, however, and he can let himself be lulled by her assurances that it's nothing to worry about.

One night, she grimaces and holds her stomach. Immediately, he is by her side, holding her arm and making her sit down. "Are you alright?"

"I'm OK," she laughs. She rubs her belly with a fond smile. "She's just kicking a little hard, is all."

"She?" he echoes. "How do you know it's a girl? We told the medic not to spoil the surprise, remember?"

"I know," she smiles shyly, "but I have...motherly intuition."

She has placed his hand on her belly, and he feels it now: a pulse, which is not a pulse at all, but a baby's kick. He whistles. He can feel it all the way through her armor. That's one tough kicker. He laughs at this.

They both pretend like her coughing doesn't exist. Like it doesn't happen. She pretends for his sake, and he pretends so that he doesn't have to fear that he'll lose her.

The day comes in the middle of winter that their child is due to be born, and he carries her to the Ga-Metru clinic. Nokama is there to personally take care of things for them, and Whenua grasps his wife's hand and winces as she gasps and cries out in pain. When tears roll down her cheeks, he wipes them away and shuts his eyes tight.

And then the coughing starts again, just as it's almost finished, hours later. She coughs and coughs and coughs, and things slow to a halt. Nokama shouts for an emergency team of medics, and personally works on helping Aki to breathe. Even after the birthing restarts, her breathing is so shallow, Whenua can hardly hear it.

Their baby - a girl, just as she said - cries a little, but not so much. Certainly nowhere near as loud as Onewa and Natay's daughter, Nicole, cried. Natay screamed the clinic down when Nicole was born, and whatever hadn't been demolished was DESTROYED by Nicole's wails. It figured she'd take after her mother and not her father. Nuju and Siahta's son, Jingo, didn't cry at all. Just blinked up at his parents questioningly, yawned, and then went to sleep.

His baby, though, his gives a small wail, but when he takes her, she stops. This being is warm. This being is comforting. Familiar to her. She can hear its heartbeat, feel it too. It pulses comfortingly, easing the fear and confusion she feels upon being pulled out of the warm confines of her mother's body. Dad.

Aki coughs, breaking the spell the baby has cast over him, and he looks at his wife fearfully. Her eyes are closed, and her usual deep blue coloring is pale, so pale. She is almost white. His hand in hers seems so dark now. Compared to him and the baby, who is black with green eyes, just like him, she is almost a ghost.

"Aki?" he murmurs, leaning over her. "Aki, wake up."

She doesn't stir.

"Aki?" He carefully extricates his hand from hers and lays it on her cheek. "See your new daughter, Aki. She's beautiful, see?"

He looks at Nokama almost pleadingly. "Why won't she wake up?" Deep down he knows the reason. He just doesn't want to admit it, not while he's holding their baby in his arms, moments after her birth.

Nokama's eyes are suspiciously shiny and moist. "I'm sorry, Whenua," she says gently. "I don't think she's going to wake up."

He cannot answer her, as his daughter gives another tiny wail and his attention is immediately focused on her. "Shh, shh...I'm here, I'm here..." he whispers to her. "Daddy's here...shh..." As he rocks her, her cries quiet a little. It's as if she knows something has happened, he thinks dully. Like she knows she only has one parent.

"What are you going to name her?" Nokama asks quietly. She is wiping Aki's forehead with a cloth, and tears are streaming down her cheeks.

A lesser being might hate the thing that brought upon his wife's death with its birth. But Whenua's eyes are gentle as he looks upon his daughter, wrapped in a blanket to keep her warm. There is no hostility, no anger, in his gaze. As Nokama watches, her heart nearly breaking in the process, the baby gives a tiny yawn and snuggles closer to her father.

Not surprisingly, Whenua's eyes are streaming as he turns to her. "Akita, I think...Aki for short." he says, and then he sits down on the bed, carefully places his upper body across his wife's so as not to crush his baby, and cries. Although he is quiet, Akita Metru wakes up again and begins to cry too.

Perhaps she, too, feels pain over her mother's death, despite not truly knowing her.

X x X

**AN: I've always wanted to go into Whenua's relationship with Aki, whom his daughter was named for. This was the perfect excuse to do so. Yay. Next up should be something about Vakama and Nokama, because it's been too long since I wrote a proper oneshot about them.**

**Review, please!**


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